Research Guides: Latin American Studies Seminar: LAS 4097 / HIST 4696: Find Primary Sources: Collections

Topical Digital Primary Source Collections

American Journeys. Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement: A Digital Library and Learning Center
American Journeys contains more than 18,000 pages of eyewitness accounts of North American exploration, from the sagas of Vikings in Canada in AD1000 to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies 800 years later.
Columbus' Letters
Christopher Columbus's letter announcing the success of his voyage to the "islands of the Indian sea" is one of the most remarkable documents ever published. It is a key document in the social and intellectual histories of both Europe and the Americas.
Latin American Pamphlet Digital Collection
These pamphlets are valuable primary resources for students and researchers working on Latin American history. They document the emergence of the Latin American colonies as independent states, and illuminate many aspects of their populations' social and cultural life.
Latin American Travelogues
Digital collection of Latin American travel accounts written in the 16th-19th centuries

Broadly Focused Digital Primary Source Collections on Latin American History

Digital Collections at the Benson Latin American Collection (University of Texas)
The Benson Latin American Collection and LLILAS host or have been partners in a broad array of digital projects and initiatives, including the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America, Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive, and the VOCES Oral History project.
National Security Archive: Latin America
Independent, non-governmental research institute, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Hispanic Reading Room: Online Collections
The Library of Congress colections encompasses Latin America, the Caribbean, Hispanics and Portuguese in the United States, the Iberian Peninsula, and other places where Iberian culture dominated and has survived.

World Scholar: Latin America and The Caribbean This link opens in a new window
World Scholar: Latin America & the Caribbean collection of primary source documents about Latin America and the Caribbean and includes academic journals and news feeds covering the region as well as reference articles and commentary, maps and statistics, audio and video; and more.

Digital Library of The Caribbean (dLOC)
Provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections.

Find Printed Primary Sources at Temple

Use Library Search and enter keywords on your research topic.
Look for records in which the Subject includes the words Sources, Personal Narratives, Correspondence, or Diaries as a subheading. When you see these subheadings it means that you have found the record for a primary source located in the physical or online library.
You can also try using the terms Sources, Personal Narratives, Correspondence, or Diaries in Library Search along with your keywords. You can find these terms under Genre when filtering your search results.
An example subject heading for primary sources on the Mexican Revolution is: Mexico -- History -- Revolution, 1910-1920 -- Sources
Try the subject links in the records for any useful items you find. These will take you to additional primary sources on the same topic.

Temple University

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